2014 Domaine de Villaine Saint-Aubin Perrières 1er, 2014 Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet Clos du Cailleret 1er

I have since learnt to drop everything and follow Dr Ngoi whenever the great man issues a sudden impromptu invitation to lunch. I was glad I did exactly that on 23 Feb 2017 when I found myself being chauffeured to Garibaldi where, to my pleasant surprise, we were joined by M. Philippe Capdouze, Founder and Chairman of FICOFI, and M. Jean-Charles Cuvelier, GM of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti who was in town for the recent DRC dinner and who still remembers my visit to that venerable estate back in 2015. Roberto, chef and owner of this top establishment, was on hand to take charge of the food and, on this occasion, he has surpassed himself, providing generous dollops of Norwegian caviar to go with sea urchin and scallops while the tajima wagyu beef was beautifully tender, melting in the mouth. It turned out a wonderful range of whites had been lined up, matching the exquisite cuisine perfectly. Decadence of utter refinement and elegance. What a way to get a real head-start on the weekend! All wines were popped and poured.

2014 Domaine de Villaine Saint-Aubin Les Perrières 1er (courtesy of Philippe). This wine possesses a lovely feminine essence of white flowers and gentle crème de la crème, open and richly layered with opulent fruit, gorgeous acidity and complex minerals of absolute  sophistication and precision that lingered with great persistence. Truly glorious and, by far, the best Saint-Aubin I’ve had. Marvellous. This wine comes from a domaine in Bouzeron, south of Chassagne, that was bought over in 1973 by Aubert de Villaine, now helmed by his nephew Pierre de Benoist.

2014 Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet Clos du Cailleret monopole 1er (courtesy of Philippe). Not to be confused with Les Caillerets, the Clos du Cailleret is a brand new wine in Domaine Ramonet’s portfolio, starting with the 2014 vintage. It hails from a walled section (hence clos) within the excellent 10-ha premiere cru of Les Caillerets. This wine is beautifully made, more forward in white flowers and clear fruits, expressing the typicity of Chassagne with rich minerals that produced textures of crème and icing layered with glorious acidity, displaying excellent linearity and definition all the way to its superb finish. Absolutely delicious. Ramonet has scored a bull’s-eye here. A must-buy.

2008 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er (courtesy of Peter Tan). Dull golden hue, displaying caramel and nutty overtones but initially shut as it was served too cold. It gradually developed an aged feel characterised by recessed fruit with a veiled quality with just traces of lychees and pineapples in the background, aided by subdued acidity and a relatively heavier tint of chalk.

1979 Ch d’Yquem (courtesy of Dr Ngoi). This wine displays apricot, aged honey and caramel that’s quite appropriate for age, still quite fresh and lively with very good acidity, gaining in some medicinal and herbal overtones with time, finishing with great persistence.

Dr Ngoi, M. Jean-Charles Cuvelier and Ric